Police fed the baby raccoon water after finding it in a hot car Tuesday morning. (Photo courtesy of Austin Police Department)

Police fed the baby raccoon water after finding it in a hot car Tuesday morning. (Photo courtesy of Austin Police Department)

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Austin police rescue baby raccoon from hot car

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AUSTIN — Austin police rescued a baby raccoon Tuesday from a hot car near the Travis County Courthouse, a police spokesperson said.

The Austin Police Department tweeted a picture of the raccoon with a reminder to drivers to not leave animals inside locked vehicles.

Police received a call at about 10:30 a.m. Tuesday morning regarding the raccoon, locked in a car on the 500 block of West 11th St. near the courthouse, police spokeswoman Jennifer Herber said.

Officers arrived minutes later and determined the raccoon had been in the car since 8:11 a.m., according to a parking ticket on the dashboard. The animal was fed ice water until animal control arrived at the scene, Herber said.

No charges had been brought against the raccoon's owner as of press time. Herber said animal cruelty charges could be brought, a class A misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail and a $4,000 fine.